Staggered Core Cooler for a Vehicle

ABSTRACT

A core cooler for a vehicle includes a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end to a second end, each of the cooling cores being fluidly isolated from the other cooling cores and including a first tank each having a respective first fluid port, a second tank each having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface. The second fluid ports of the second tanks extend toward and are associated with a common edge of the core cooler. Each second tank of the respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to vehicles, and, more specifically, to work vehicles including heat exchangers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In work vehicles, such as agricultural vehicles, many of the components generate heat during normal operation. Excessive produced heat can cause damage to the components and surrounding components, as well as undesirably alter performance characteristics of the components. This is a particular issue in hydraulic motors, pumps, and gearboxes, where control of the temperature of the fluid, such as oil, can be important to operation.

In order to manage heat generated during operation, many vehicles are equipped with liquid-to-air coolers that direct relatively cool air across surfaces heated by the relatively hot liquid in order to remove the heat from the liquid, which is then returned to the source component. Many such coolers have multiple cores that are fluidly separated from one another in order to keep the liquids being cooled separated from one another and avoid intermixing of the different types of fluids. The cores of the cooler can be separated, for example, by walls within the cooler which fluidly separate each individual core.

Each individual core has an inlet which is connected to a component so as to receive fluid from the component, an outlet to return cooled fluid to the component, and one or more fluid passages between the inlet and outlet that the fluid travels through in order to remove heat from the liquid. The inlet can be formed in a top tank of the cooler and the outlet can be formed in a bottom tank of the cooler, so that fluid flows through the top tank toward the bottom tank. In some cores, there may be many fluid passages to increase the amount of material in contact with the hot fluid and, therefore, the amount of heat removed from the fluid. A fan directed toward the heated material then flows relatively cool air across the heated material to remove heat from the material, allowing the material to remove more heat from liquid flowing through the cooler.

One particular problem with coolers known in the art has to do with the arrangement of the cores within the cooler. Specifically, the location of the inlet and/or outlet ports of the cores can be in a region of the cooler that is difficult to access once the cooler is installed in the vehicle. Many of the ports are positioned at the front of the cooler, which may not be accessible and makes it difficult to, for example, replace a hose or fitting.

What is needed in the art is a cooler with ports which can be more easily accessed and still offer adequate cooling performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a core cooler with successively arranged cooling cores having second tanks which are staggered.

The invention in one form is directed to a core cooler for a cooling arrangement of a vehicle, in particular for a work vehicle, including a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end of the core cooler to a second end of the core cooler, each of the cooling cores being fluidly isolated from the other cooling cores and including a first tank each having a respective first fluid port, a second tank each having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface, the second fluid ports of the second tanks extending toward and being associated with a common edge of the core cooler. The core cooler is characterized in that each second tank of the respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank.

An advantage of the present invention is that the inlets and/or outlets can be placed on the side(s) of the core cooler, rather than the front, to be more accessible.

Another advantage is that the staggered arrangement of the cooling cores provides adequate cooling performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a work vehicle in the form of a combine harvester formed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a core cooler formed according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the core cooler shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the core cooler shown in FIGS. 2-3.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The terms “grain”, “straw” and “tailings” are used principally throughout this specification for convenience but it is to be understood that these terms are not intended to be limiting. Thus “grain” refers to that part of the crop material which is threshed and separated from the discardable part of the crop material, which is referred to as non-grain crop material, MOG or straw. Incompletely threshed crop material is referred to as “tailings”. Also the terms “forward”, “rearward”, “left” and “right”, when used in connection with the vehicle and/or components thereof are usually determined with reference to the direction of forward operative travel of the harvester, but again, they should not be construed as limiting. The terms “longitudinal” and “transverse” are determined with reference to the fore-aft direction of the vehicle and are equally not to be construed as limiting.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a work vehicle in the form of a combine harvester 10, which generally includes a chassis 12, ground engaging wheels 14 and 16, a header 18, a feeder housing 20, an operator cab 22, a threshing and separating system 24, a cleaning system 26, a grain tank 28, and an unloading conveyance 30. Unloading conveyor 30 is illustrated as an unloading auger, but can also be configured as a belt conveyor, chain elevator, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the work vehicle 10 is assumed to be a combine harvester, but could be a different type of work vehicle, such as a tractor, windrower, backhoe, dozer, excavator, feller-buncher, etc.

Front wheels 14 are larger flotation type wheels, and rear wheels 16 are smaller steerable wheels. Motive force is selectively applied to front wheels 14 through a power plant in the form of a diesel engine 32 and a transmission (not shown). Although combine 10 is shown as including wheels, is also to be understood that combine 10 may include tracks, such as full tracks or half tracks.

Header 18 is mounted to the front of combine 10 and includes a cutter bar 34 for severing crops from a field during forward motion of combine 10. A rotatable reel 36 feeds the crop into header 18, and a double auger 38 feeds the severed crop laterally inwardly from each side toward feeder housing 20. Feeder housing 20 conveys the cut crop to threshing and separating system 24, and is selectively vertically movable using appropriate actuators, such as hydraulic cylinders (not shown).

Threshing and separating system 24 is of the axial-flow type, and generally includes a rotor 40 at least partially enclosed by and rotatable within a corresponding perforated concave 42. The cut crops are threshed and separated by the rotation of rotor 40 within concave 42, and larger elements, such as stalks, leaves and the like are discharged from the rear of combine 10. Smaller elements of crop material including grain and non-grain crop material, including particles lighter than grain, such as chaff, dust and straw, are discharged through perforations of concave 42.

Grain which has been separated by the threshing and separating assembly 24 falls onto a grain pan 44 and is conveyed toward cleaning system 26. Cleaning system 26 may include an optional pre-cleaning sieve 46, an upper sieve 48 (also known as a chaffer sieve), a lower sieve 50 (also known as a cleaning sieve), and a cleaning fan 52. Grain on sieves 46, 48 and 50 is subjected to a cleaning action by fan 52 which provides an airflow through the sieves to remove chaff and other impurities such as dust from the grain by making this material airborne for discharge from straw hood 54 of combine 10. Grain pan 44 and pre-cleaning sieve 46 oscillate in a fore-to-aft manner to transport the grain and finer non-grain crop material to the upper surface of upper sieve 48. Upper sieve 48 and lower sieve 50 are vertically arranged relative to each other, and likewise oscillate in a fore-to-aft manner to spread the grain across sieves 48, 50, while permitting the passage of cleaned grain by gravity through the openings of sieves 48, 50.

Clean grain falls to a clean grain auger 56 positioned crosswise below and in front of lower sieve 50. Clean grain auger 56 receives clean grain from each sieve 48, 50 and from bottom pan 58 of cleaning system 26. Clean grain auger 56 conveys the clean grain laterally to a generally vertically arranged grain elevator 60 for transport to grain tank 28. Tailings from cleaning system 26 fall to a tailings auger trough 62. The tailings are transported via tailings auger 64 and return auger 66 to the upstream end of cleaning system 26 for repeated cleaning action. Cross augers 68 at the bottom of grain tank 28 convey the clean grain within grain tank 28 to unloading auger 30 for discharge from combine 10.

According to an aspect of the present invention, and referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the combine harvester 10 includes a core cooler 80 for a cooling arrangement which is a liquid-to-air heat exchanger including a plurality of cores 90A, 90B, 90C successively arranged from a first end 82 of the cooler 80 to a second end 84 of the cooler 80. As shown herein, the cores 90A, 90B, 90C are successively arranged in a direction, indicated by arrow D, from the first end 82 to the second end 84 along a width W of the core cooler 80. It should be appreciated that the cores 90A, 90B, 90C can alternatively be successively arranged along a height H or thickness T of the core cooler 80 without deviating from the present invention. In addition to the first end 82 and second end 84, the cooler 80 can also have a heated surface 86, which may be referred to as a “heat transfer surface,” which is heated by fluid traveling through the cores 90A, 90B, 90C traveling through the cooler 80, which is described further herein. It should be appreciated that while the cooler 80 is shown with three cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C, the cooler 80 may only have two cooler cores or may have more than three cooler cores, such as four or more, and therefore the number of cooler cores may be varied depending on the number of components to be connected and the cooling requirements of the cooler 80. The heated surface 86 can be arranged so that a cooling air flow produced by a cooling fan 110 flows across the heated surface 86 to remove heat from the heated surface 86 and, therefore, fluid flowing through the cooler 80. As is known, the cooling fan 110 can be configured and arranged to either push or pull cooling air across the heated surface 86 to produce the cooling air flow.

As can be seen, each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C includes a first tank 92A, 92B, 92C with a first fluid port 94A, 94B, 94C, respectively, a second tank 96A, 96B, 96C with a second fluid port 98A, 98B, 98C, respectively, and one or more fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C between the first tank 92A, 92B, 92C and the second tank 96A, 96B, 96C so as to fluidly communicate the first fluid port 94A, 94B, 94C and second fluid port 98A, 98B, 98C. The first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C and second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C are, essentially, open areas at the top and bottom of each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C. Each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C is fluidly separated from the other cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C so that different fluids flowing through the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C from different components do not combine and intermix within the cooler 80. For instance, it would be undesirable to have hydraulic oil from one component intermixing with transmission fluid from another component, as this would adversely affect the properties and function of both fluids. The cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C can be fluidly separated by, for example, each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C being its own closed fluid flow system and the separate cores 90A, 90B, 90C, in conjunction, forming the cooler 80. Alternatively, the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C can each be a defined space within the interior volume of the cooler 80 partitioned from each other by walls in the cooler 80. Other constructions can also be used, so long as each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C is fluidly separate from the other cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C of the cooler 80. As shown, the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C can be fluid inlets which receive heated fluid from a component to flow through the fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C, cooling off in the process, before flowing out of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C, which would be outlets, of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C to flow back to the respective component. It should be appreciated that, alternatively, the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 98C can be fluid inlets while the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C are fluid outlets. Further, as shown, the fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C of the cores 90A, 90B, 90C can all generally extend parallel to one another.

Referring specifically now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C of the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C are each staggered relative to an adjacent second tank 96A, 96B, 96C. It should be understood that, in the context of the present invention and especially the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-4, the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C can be “staggered” relative to an adjacent second tank 96A, 96B, 96C in the sense that each successive second tank 96A, 96B, 96C has a portion which lies below an adjacent second tank, which allows the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C to all extend from a lower side of the cooler 80. More generally, the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C are “staggered” relative to an adjacent second tank in that adjacent second tanks, such as second tanks 96A and 96B, only partially overlap in at least two dimensions within the core cooler 80 so the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C each have at least two dimensions which are different than the respective dimensions of an adjacent second tank 96A, 96B, 96C. As illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, the second tank 96A is staggered relative to the second tank 96B so the second tank 96A is stacked on top of the second tank 96B and a tank width TWA of the second tank 96A and a tank width TWB of the second tank 96B are unequal, with the tank width TWB being greater than TWA. Similarly, the second tank 96B is staggered relative to the second tank 96C so the second tank 96B is stacked on top of the second tank 96C and the tank width TWB of the second tank 96B and a tank width TWC of the second tank 96C are unequal, with the tank width TWC being greater than TWB and TWA. Since the tank widths TWA, TWB, and TWC are all different, the number of fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C can also be different, with each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C having a number of fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C directly correlating to the tank width TWA, TWB, TWC of the respective second tank 96A, 96B, 96C, i.e., the cores with wider second tanks have more fluid passages. Alternatively, the number of fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C in each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C can be kept the same, despite the different tank widths TWA, TWB, TWC, by making the widths of the fluid passages 100A, 100B, 100C unequal. To stack the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C as shown in FIGS. 2-3, each cooler core 90A, 90B, 90C defines a core height CHA, CHB, CHC, with the core heights CHA, CHB, CHC being unequal and increasing in the direction D from the first end 82 toward the second end 84. This staggering of the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C can extend all the way to the second end 84 of the cooler 80, with each cooler core being staggered relative to one or more adjacent core(s). Referring to FIG. 2 specifically, it can be seen that while the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C of the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C are staggered relative to each other, the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C of the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C can be generally in line with one another as shown. It should also be appreciated that in some embodiments, the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C may also be staggered relative to one another. It should be further appreciated that while the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C of the cooler cores 90A, 90B, 90C are stacked on top of each other so that adjacent second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C abut against each other, the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C do not necessarily need to contact one another to be staggered and therefore may be spaced apart, if desired.

Referring to FIG. 2 specifically, it can be seen that the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C all extend in a first fluid flow direction FD1, shown as extending into and out of the page. In this sense, the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C all extend in parallel to one another. Similarly, the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C all extend in parallel to one another in a second fluid flow direction FD2 which is rotated 90° from the first fluid flow direction FD1. Further, the respective fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C extend toward and are associated with a common edge 99 of the core cooler 80 so the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C can all extend out of a relatively easily accessed portion of the core cooler 80, shown herein as the common edge 99. It should be appreciated that the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C extend toward and are associated with the common edge 99 in the sense that fluid flowing into and/or out of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C can flow past the common edge 99, either during entry or exit from the respective cooling core 90A, 90B, 90C. By having such a configuration, fluid traveling in one of the fluid flow directions FD1, FD2 can flow into the cooling cores 90A, 90B, 90C, flow through the cooling cores 90A, 90B, 90C, and flow out of the cooling cores 90A, 90B, 90C traveling in the other fluid flow direction FD2, FD1 which is rotated 90° relative to the entry fluid flow direction. Such a fluid flow allows placement of the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C and 98A, 98B, 98C on perpendicular surfaces of the cooler 80 for easier accessibility; this is in contrast to known coolers, which have the fluid ports on the same or opposite surface(s) of the cooler. Further, the arrangement of the cooler 80 described herein allows placement of the ports 98A, 98B, 98C on a side, rather than front, of the cooler 80 with little or no loss of space within the cooler 80 and with a lack of or negligible detrimental effect on the cooling performance of the cooler 80 during operation.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a perspective view of the cooler 80 is shown to further illustrate the previously described first fluid flow direction FD1 of the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C and the second fluid flow direction FD2 of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C. As can be seen, the first fluid flow direction FD1 of the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C can extend through a plane defined by the heat transfer surface 86, which is shown as a front surface of the cooler 80, while the second fluid flow direction FD2 of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C can extend through a plane defined by a side surface 120 of the cooler 80. As used herein, a “front surface” of a cooler, when the cooler is formed in the shape of a polygonal prism, will generally be the largest or second largest surface, in terms of surface area, bound by the width W and height H of the cooler 80. Further, a “side surface” of a cooler, when the cooler is formed in the shape of a polygonal prism, will generally be a surface connecting a front surface and its opposite back surface, and may be bound by either the thickness T and the width W or the thickness T and the height H. From the foregoing, it should therefore be appreciated how exemplary embodiments of the present invention rotating the first fluid flow direction FD1 of the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C by 90° relative to the second fluid flow direction FD2 of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C can allow placement of the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C on the front surface 86 and placement of the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C on the side surface 120 of the cooler 80, i.e., the respective fluid flow directions FD1, FD2 can extend through planes defined by respective perpendicular surfaces. Alternatively, the cooler can be formed to have the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C staggered relative to each other with the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C also staggered relative to each other, which can allow the fluid ports 98A, 98B, 98C of the second tanks 96A, 96B, 96C to extend from the side surface 120 of the cooler 80 while also allowing the fluid ports 94A, 94B, 94C of the first tanks 92A, 92B, 92C to extend from the side surface 120 of the cooler 80 as well, i.e., the respective fluid flow directions FD1, FD2 can extend through a common plane.

While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such 

What is claimed is:
 1. A core cooler for a cooling arrangement of a vehicle, the core cooler comprising: a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end of the core cooler to a second end of the core cooler, each of the plurality of cooling cores being fluidly isolated from others of the plurality of cooling cores and comprising a first tank having a respective first fluid port, a second tank having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface, the second fluid ports of the second tanks extending toward and being associated with a common edge of the core cooler, wherein each second tank of respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank.
 2. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein two or more of the second tanks of the respective cooling cores are stacked on top of a successive second tank.
 3. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein the respective first fluid ports of the first tanks all extend in a first fluid flow direction and the respective second fluids ports of the second tanks all extend in a second fluid flow direction, wherein the second fluid flow direction extends through a plane defined by a side surface of the core cooler and the first fluid flow direction extends through a plane defined by the side surface of the core cooler.
 4. The core cooler of claim 3, wherein the second fluid flow direction is rotated 90° relative to the first fluid flow direction.
 5. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein the cooling cores each define a core height between their respective first tank and their respective second tank, the core heights of at least two cooling cores being unequal.
 6. The core cooler of claim 5, wherein the core heights of the cooling cores increase in a direction toward the second end of the core cooler.
 7. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein the respective second tank of each cooling core defines a tank width, the tank widths of at least two of the second tanks being unequal.
 8. The core cooler of claim 7, wherein the tank widths of the second tanks increase in a direction toward the second end of the core cooler.
 9. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein the fluid passages of the cooling cores all extend generally parallel to one another.
 10. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein two or more of the cooling cores have a different number of fluid passages and two or more of the cooling cores have a same number of fluid passages.
 11. The core cooler of claim 1, wherein the respective first fluid ports of the first tanks are inlets and the respective second fluid ports of the second tanks are outlets.
 12. The core cooler of claim 1, further comprising a cooling fan configured to flow cooling air across the plurality of cooling cores.
 13. A vehicle comprising: a core cooler comprising a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end of the core cooler to a second end of the core cooler, each of the cooling cores being fluidly isolated from the other cooling cores and comprising a first tank each having a respective first fluid port, a second tank each having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface, the second fluid ports of the second tanks extending toward and being associated with a common edge of the core cooler, wherein each second tank of the respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank; and a plurality of components each fluidly coupled to a respective one of the plurality of cooling cores of the core cooler.
 14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein each component is configured to output a heated fluid to a respectively coupled cooling core, two or more of the heated fluids being different from one another. 